S&M Activists Beaten Down By Stereotypes

Steve Rubenstein, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published
4:00 am PST, Wednesday, January 21, 1998

1998-01-21 04:00:00 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- People who whip each other and tie each other up and stick each other with needles are just ordinary folks, a city commission in San Francisco was told last night.

That's true whether it's discrimination against people who slap each other in the face, or people who clamp clothespins on each other's chests, or people who just like to give each other an old-fashioned spanking.

Nobody at this particular hearing needed to be told that "S&M" stands for sadomasochism or that the "leather community" is shorthand for people who do it.

The leather community had been invited to present what was billed as "Leather 101" -- an overview of issues and gripes among the whips-and-chains set.

The hearing was most civilized. Each speaker got five minutes.

The person testifying about bondage tables got five minutes. The person testifying about dominatrixes got five minutes. The person testifying about bears and otters got five minutes.

Bears and otters, by the way, do not mean bears and otters. A bear is a large, hairy S&M fan, testified one bear, and an otter is a hairless playmate of a bear.

After an hour of such informational fact-finding -- duly sanctioned and authorized -- it was clear that a city commission possesses that rare power to make dull even the sharpest razor blade and remove the snap from the wickedest cat-o'-nine-tails.

Only four members of the public even showed up.

Karen Kircher, testifying for the Outcasts club, handed out a booklet full of helpful, commonsense advice for fun times in the dungeon:

"When slapping someone in the face, hold her under the jaw with your other hand and do not hit the nose, eye, ear or temple."

Leather people said they face discrimination even in the mainstream gay community. It's not fair, said Fiske, that leather people are always asked to march toward the end in the annual gay parade.

Kircher said the good feeling you get from whipping someone is not much different from the good feeling you get from jogging in the park. "It's all about getting that rush," she said. "Some people get it jogging. Some people get it from eating hot peppers."

Not all pain is pleasurable, Kircher added. "Other forms do not create the high," she said, addressing the dozen committee members most solemnly. "I get migraine headaches, for example. They are not fun at all."